The open source community should feel a little safer from software patent attacks, writes InfoWorld's Simon Phipps. "The Open Invention Network, a consortium of Linux contributors formed as a self-defense against software patents, has extended the definition of Linux so that a whopping 700 new software packages are covered, including many developer favorites. Just one hitch: The new definition also includes carve-outs that put all Linux developers on notice that Phillips and Sony reserve the right to sue over virtualization, search, user interfaces, and more."

Actually, I think any i2c patents would be expired by now, or about to be. It's technology from the early 80s if I'm not mistaken, so any 25-year long patent would have expired.

Of course the trademark of the i2c name and the logo would still be owned by Philips, but that has nothing to do with patent pools. Not to mention that those have been circumvented for years by calling it smbus or 2-wire bus.